Mar 03 2008
Week of March 3rd, 2008
Don’t let your yard sabotage your home sale
Excerpted from Bankrate.com
Will your landscaping pull in buyers or make them drive on by? Outdated or extreme styles, high-maintenance features and invasive or overgrown foliage can kill interest. Here are the experts’ dos and don’ts. These days, elaborate patios, outdated or high-maintenance landscaping and invasive plants and trees can kill buyer interest in a home almost as quickly as an outdated kitchen or orange shag carpeting, according to landscaping experts and real-estate agents.
Landscaping often makes the difference between a prospective buyer getting out of the car for a closer look at the house and simply driving on by. Indeed, good landscaping can provide more bang for your buck than almost any other home improvement — provided it’s done right.
A few dos — and 6 don’ts
Buyers today expect landscaping that’s easy to take care of and water-wise, and offers benefits like shade or privacy, according to the National Gardening Association. A pot of bright annuals by the front door isn’t going to do it for most discriminating buyers. There’s really a trend towards landscaping that is both functionally and environmentally correct. You want to have the right plants in the right place. Here’s a look at the top landscaping turnoffs for buyers and what homeowners can do to make sure their landscaping efforts enhance, rather than detract from the value of their home.
1. Your father’s landscaping
Rounded junipers, squared-off boxwood and holly bushes, and topiary shrubs scream that the house is a throwback to the 1960s and ’70s, agents say. People now want their landscaping to look natural, with more native plants and interesting, varied foliage. Flat top shrubs and those with poodlelike puffs are out, landscapers say. Big pine trees and other evergreens planted decades ago also can be a turnoff to buyers. These trees can get too big and must be continually hacked off at the top (a bad look) or taken out entirely to avoid roofs and power lines.
2. Gnomes gone wild
It should go without saying, but put the lawn ornaments away. Other buyers may not share your love of lawn globes, gnomes and plastic deer. The same rules for depersonalizing and de-cluttering inside your home apply to the outside, as well.
3. High-maintenance yards
While many buyers fancy themselves green-thumb gardeners, few want to invest serious time in pruning, spraying, mowing and fertilizing. Beds of non-disease-resistant plants such as hybrid tea roses can eat up a buyer’s weekends with pruning and applying fungicide. They may be beautiful when they are in flower, but it’s a nightmare to keep them from getting sick.
A house can stay longer on the market specifically because of the rigors of its landscaping. Customers want more flower power with less maintenance according to local nurseries. That means fewer annuals with short bloom times and more native plants and hardy perennials. You could plant newer flower varieties with longer bloom times, such as continuous blooming hydrangeas; knockout roses, which flower abundantly and require little pruning or spraying; and some of the newer types of azaleas that bloom twice a year.
4. Over-the-top outdoor living spaces
The line between the indoors and outdoors has been blurring in recent years, with more homeowners building elaborate outdoor living spaces complete with fireplaces, kitchens, outdoor showers and custom stone work. In many parts of the country, these areas are a big selling point, making the house seem larger. But when the work gets too ornate or extensive, it can sometimes detract from the value of a home — especially in colder climates. If you go overboard, you are going to limit the number of people interested in the property.
5. Bad seeds
Some plants send up a red flag with many knowledgeable buyers because they are so invasive. High on the list are ficus trees, especially those planted too close to a driveway, house or patio. The fast-growing, shallow roots of the ficus crack pavement and can wreak havoc on foundations. Similarly, ivy and other vines can proliferate too quickly, posing a danger to other plants, as well as to windows and roofs. They also can attract bugs to the house.
Invasive trees such as the Callery pear can be beautiful when flowering, but dump a lot of litter on the lawn. The trees also are very brittle, making them susceptible to storm damage. And like some other fast-growing varieties, Callery pear trees have a relatively short life span of 25 years. This life span is something buyers should consider when buying a house with a mature tree that figures prominently, landscapers say.
6. Too much green?
Many people are asking for smaller expanses of grass so they spend less time pushing the lawn mower and running the sprinkler. People don’t want a yard that makes huge demands on their time. You can plant grass in shadier ends of the lawn along with higher-water plants like azaleas or ferns, or group drought-resistant specimens where the sun is most brutal. By sorting plants according to water need, you waste less water and homeowners can spend less time wielding the hose. But, that doesn’t mean buyers are ready to give up color.
And just as important, consider the landscaping in relation to the house. If you’re going to have a four bedroom (house), you better have a yard. Most important, maintain whatever landscaping you have. Overgrown hedges, dying flowers and leggy bushes send the message that the inside of the house is ill-kept, as well. Maintenance is key to maintaining your value and curb appeal.